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Wrongful Death

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The loss of a family member is one of the worst tragedies anyone can face. When a loved one is lost suddenly because of the carelessness or wrongdoing of another person, it can be psychologically, emotionally, and financially devastating to the family.

What is Wrongful Death?

Wrongful Death happens when a person dies as a result of the negligent or wrongful act of someone else. The person who caused the wrongful death can be held responsible in court. A wrongful death can happen because of a car accident, a traumatic brain injury, medical malpractice, a birth injury, a truck accident, a construction accident, pharmacy error or a faulty product sold to a consumer. The wrongful death attorneys at The Hershewe Law Firm, P.C. are experienced in investigating and pursuing wrongful death cases based on each of these sets of facts and can assist you in evaluating your case.

While the pain of your loved one’s death is difficult to experience and even more difficult to think about, a wrongful death lawsuit may help you continue to live as normal a life as possible after your tragic loss. The law allows certain class members to recover money damages for funeral expenses, the reasonable value of the deceased person’s services, consortium, companionship, comfort, instruction, guidance, counsel, training, and support, in addition to any pain and suffering the deceased person may have suffered from the time of injury to the time of death.

Can I file a Wrongful Death lawsuit?

Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit depends on whether the wrongful death occurred in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, or New Mexico. Generally, a husband or wife, surviving children, father or mother, and sometimes the brother or sister of the deceased person can initiate a wrongful death lawsuit. In some states, a Class Representative will have to be named. Contact a wrongful death attorney at The Hershewe Law Firm today for a free consultation. Our expert attorneys can advise you whether or not you can file a wrongful death lawsuit.

How much time do I have to file a Wrongful Death lawsuit?

If you or your family has been affected by the death of a close family member due to a tragic accident or the carelessness of another person or business, get the advice of an experienced wrongful death lawyer today. Some time limits on bringing these claims can be as short as ninety days after the loss, as in the case of suing certain cities or state governments. Please call or e-mail an attorney today.

The exact time limit for your wrongful death claim will vary greatly depending on what type of injury or accident it was that caused the death and where the accident occurred. For example, wrongful death due to medical malpractice in Missouri will have a time limit of two years from the date of the injury. Wrongful death due to a car accident or trucking accident will have a two year time limit in Oklahoma, but a three-year limit in Missouri – unless the accident was caused by a government official. To know the exact time limit for your case, it is important that you talk to a lawyer experienced in wrongful death and knowledgeable about the type of injury your loved one experienced.

The laws and the time limits governing wrongful death lawsuits can be complicated, confusing, and intimidating. Seek the advice of an experienced wrongful death attorney who can counsel you and direct you in your wrongful death lawsuit and your right to recover damages for your loss. The attorneys at the Hershewe Law Firm have been filing wrongful death claims for over thirty years, and our lawyers are experts at Medical Malpractice, injuries and death from a faulty product, Auto and Trucking Accidents, Mass transit accidents, and work accidents. Call us today for a free consultation.

What should I do next?

If you think you have a Wrongful Death claim, you need to seek the advice of an experienced wrongful death attorney as soon as possible to learn about the time limits, your rights, the law, and who can file the lawsuit.

Lawyers must not only know the law, they must keep up with how interpretations of it change in the local courts. You want to speak with a wrongful death attorney who knows how to prepare a case; thorough investigation and careful discovery are crucial. You want an attorney who has the reputation and skill to negotiate.

Ed Hershewe and his wrongful death lawyers are known as assertive, competent representatives of people injured or killed through no fault of their own in preventable accidents.

In a Missouri Wrongful Death lawsuit, a spouse, children, or a surviving parent will be first in line to file a wrongful death lawsuit. If there are no surviving children, parents, or a spouse, then the deceased person’s brother or sister can bring the lawsuit. If there is no sibling to bring the lawsuit, the court may appoint any other relative or heir to pursue the wrongful death action.

In an Arkansas Wrongful Death lawsuit, every single beneficiary - including spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters - must be named as a party to the lawsuit in order to properly bring the wrongful death claim. Otherwise, an Arkansas Court can name someone to act as the Personal Representative of the entire class of people.

To bring an Oklahoma Wrongful Death suit, the Court must appoint a Personal Representative to initiate the suit on behalf of the heirs. If no Personal Representative has been appointed, then the surviving spouse may bring a claim. If there is no surviving spouse, the decedent’s next of kin may initiate the lawsuit.

In New Mexico, the spouse and children of the person who died would be first in line to bring a lawsuit for the injury and wrongful death of their loved one. Second in line would be the deceased person’s parents, siblings, or grandparents. Additionally, the Court may appoint one of these people to act as Personal Representative of the survivors during the lawsuit.

Any heir – spouse, child, grandchild, sibling, parent, grandparent - who has sustained a loss as a result of the wrongful death can bring a lawsuit. The lawsuit is for the benefit of any and all heirs, whether or not they helped bring the lawsuit.

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